Saturday, February 13th, 2010
September 5th
Ange and I were off again, this time upstate to photograph Sena + Jeff’s Wedding at the Renaissance Westchester Hotel in White plains NY. I’d been looking forward to being their photographer for a while. We had a really great time on our engagement shoot a few months before hand. Sena and Jeff are a fantastic couple - honest, natural and easy going.
Sena’s roots are Korean and Jeff’s, Jewish. Both their cultures and traditions would be honoured, first in a Jewish Wedding Ceremony and then later during the reception with the Korean Paebek.
S + J didn’t want to take too much time away from the evening and their guests so we had decided to do all our portraits pre ceremony. There is a lovely nature trail that runs from the hotel so we utilized that for our portrait session. Sena was looking so beautiful, she opted for something a little different, and went with a red dress, which was stunning! Jeff was looking mighty handsome too.
We scored some pretty amazing weather for the day. The Ceremony took place in the afternoon. The site looked great with the beautiful, warm afternoon sun beaming through the trees that surrounded us.
After the bread was blessed and the wine glass smashed it was time to celebrate! That included the performance of the Paebek, a traditional Korean Ceremony. The bride and groom wear Hanboks, traditional Korean wear and pay respect to their parents. It’s a great (and entertaining) ceremony, which they modified slightly to personalize and was a fitting final touch on S + J’s day. The Hanboks are quite elaborate, with a few layers that almost guarantee a little bit of sweating. Sena + Jeff performed a series of bows to their parent, as well as serving them tea. The parents then throw chestnuts and dates to be caught, this predicts the number of children they will have together, chestnuts for boys, dates for girls. At the end of the ceremony Jeff carried Sena around on his back as proof that he is able and willing to support Sena through out their marriage. By the end of the ceremony everybody was having a great laugh 
The time came to sit down and eat, drink, catch up and finally dance. It was a terrific day and night, I had a blast as their photographer and we got some really great photographs. I hope you enjoy…
Check out Mr Ku, shredding on and above the dance floor!
Sena shows off her new bling…
Friday, February 12th, 2010
I love it when I’m the photographer for the wedding of cool people! It’s really such a joy spending the day hanging out with great people, meeting their close friends and family. Sam and Brian are really awesome. I knew from our first meeting that we would have an absolute ball on their wedding day. They are both such friendly, laid back and genuine souls.
September 12th started pretty early for me. Sam and Brian spent the night before in the same hotel so I was able to get photos of both of them preparing for the day. I stopped by the boys room first for some bagels n cream cheese and a few photographs of them all getting ready, then hopped a few doors down to see Sam. I was so impressed with how well Sam was coping, she was just about as relaxed as I was nothing could ruffle her feathers, not even her father mixing up their contact lenses.
The Hotel was right on 42nd street, Manhattan. The theory was we with a photographer and six beautiful girls, one carrying a wedding dress, could hail a cab quickly and easily right out front, but that wasn’t quite the case… We finally got our cab and headed to The Blessed Sacrament Church on 71st St. It’s a beautiful catholic church with wonderful statues and stunning stained glass windows.
Sam’s father had organised a bus tour for their guests after the Ceremony to get them all from the church to the reception venue at Olive Restaurant. It was a great idea that allowed those guests from out of town to see parts of the city they hadn’t seen before and for those that had they got to see it from a different view.
The reception at Olive Restaurant was great, lots of really good food, wine and company. There were a few really moving speeches from both fathers and Brian’s Granny pulled out some props from his past to tell a moving story.
I had a fantastic day as Sam and Brian’s Wedding photographer, here are a few photos from the day.
Hailing a cab
still hailing a cab…
Wednesday, February 10th, 2010
August 21st
It was off to Simsbury Connecticut to photograph my first out of New York Destination Wedding. I brought along my beautiful wife Ange, for company on the 3 1/2 hour drive, to help navigate using Google maps shoddy directions and to be my second photographer.
Kelly + Chad chose the fantastic Riverview as their all in one venue for the Wedding. It has a couple of different out door locations for the ceremony, both of which look over a small tree lined river (hence the name).
The day started off sunny, hot, humid and sticky. We took shelter in the air conditioned bridal suite where Kelly enlisted her brides maids to help her put the finishing touches to her ensemble – besides the obvious wedding dress, shoes, jewellery etc think extra heavy duty antiperspirant deodorant (check out the photos)
While Kelly and her girls were getting ready Chad and the boys took charge of keeping an eye on the sky – there had been reports that a thunderstorm could blow our way. As time went on, the clouds began looking more ominous until about 45 minutes before the ceremony when torrential rain, thunder and lightning descended upon us
The crew at The Riverview worked at super human speed to transport everything from the outdoor ceremony site to the in door venue they use for wedding ceremonies. After a very short delay the site was up, the guests were ready and Chad waited eagerly at the alter for Kelly.
The ceremony was performed by an old family friend of Kelly’s. It was typical of both Kelly and Chad sweet, funny and filled with love.
Ange and I had a great time and we got some great photographs at Kelly + Chad’s. However, after all the celebrations we still had a three hour drive home to Brooklyn in the thunderstorm!
Tuesday, February 9th, 2010
Sydney and Rogelio had a small group of friends with them when they took their vows on Friday at New York City Hall. But, it was the Saturday, on August 22nd that they were saving all the hurrar for. They celebrated their Wedding with friends and family at an awesome Willamsburg loft, come reception space. The three level space with an outside garden/patio and a large balcony area over looking the dance floor and various little sitting rooms was the perfect venue for the relaxed, laid back feel that Sydney and Rogelio wanted for their Wedding reception. Sydney and Rogelio had his brother perform a ceremony that night for all their guests and they had help from other friends to make the day feel like their own with hand picked flowers, candles and homemade cupcakes (Yum!!) As is often the case in New York on an August day it was very hot and humid so we had decided to organise their photo session a few weeks later. So we met up for our photoshoot one September afternoon down in the always beautiful DUMBO. Here are a few of the photos from that session…
Thursday, February 4th, 2010
I had a great time as Daniela and Morris’s Wedding Photographer! They’re a really cute couple who live in California but grew up in New York. So, as it often is, with their roots still deeply set in New York, they would get married in the Kehila Kedosha Janina Synagogue, NYC on August 16th
It was a great ceremony made special by the presence of family and friends, but what made it more special was that the Synagogue where they said their I do’s was built by Morris’s Grandfather!
It’s a fantastic and unique Synagogue in the lower Manhattan area. The guests filled the lower level and flowed up to the balcony level to watch the traditional Jewish Ceremony from above.
After the rings, breaking of the glass and their first kiss as husband and wife it was off to Cavo café and lounge in Queens, NY for the Reception and party! The reception was a fantastic time! The caterers at Cavo did a fantastic job with the food, everybody danced them selves silly and Daniela and Morris’s parents gave classic speeches (Daniela’s father had people in stiches with his recount of moments during her childhood)
